Cunard Releases Queen Victoria Plans

Cunard has released details of the changes they plan to make to Queen Victoria during its May dry dock, which includes the creation of Britannia Club facilities aboard the ship.

The work will be done during a monthlong dry dock at Fincantieri's Palermo yard beginning May 5. Completion is planned for June 4.

The complete story appeared in the March 17 edition of Cruise News Daily.

The new Chart Room aboard Queen Victoria

Britannia Club stateroom aboard Queen Victoria

The new Britannia Club restaurant aboard Queen Victoria

Renderings courtesy of Cunard Line. All rights reserved. May not be copied or used without express permission.

Other Things You'll Want to Know - March 17, 2017

CND subscribers also read about:

• Three "do-overs" for horrible honeymoons
• Good-by to a Legend as the 1995-built Legend of the Seas completes its final voyage for Royal Caribbean International

Details appeared in the March 17 edition of Cruise News Daily.

Princess Details Dry Dock Plans for Caribbean Princess

Where has the winter gone? It's only ten days until Caribbean Princess' big spring dry dock on March 26 when she gets all spiffed up for her summer in Europe (and even bigger summer next year, you know where).

She's going to be spending two weeks in Freeport getting rejuvenated and a bunch of new features.

Details appeared in the March 16 edition of Cruise News Daily. 

(Almost) Too Many to Count

Quick! Can you remember which Holland America ship just scored a perfect score on its US Public Health inspection? (It was Oosterdam on March 3.) Holland America ships are so clean and the 100's are coming so fast, it's hard to remember which ships have obtained the hard-to-get score.

Here comes another one. The line said today Koningsdam now has also scored 100 on its unannounced inspection on March 12 during a turnaround at Ft. Lauderdale.

The complete story appeared in the March 16 edition of Cruise News Daily.

The Shape of Things to Come

You don't order a ship and have it delivered next week, or next year, for that matter. Then again you don't have to order it ten years in advance either. Yet the world's shipyards have cruise ships on order that far out.

The health of shipyards' order books relates directly to the strength of the demand for cruises, and right now, those order books have never been stronger.

Details appeared in the March 15 edition of Cruise News Daily. 

The Queen Has Expensive Tastes - in Maintenance

For the last couple of days, media outlets in Southern California have been reporting on a new study which has been done on Queen Mary, which is permanently moored at Long Beach. The news isn't good. They found the hull corroding in numerous places, and in some places, such as the engine room, so severe that they could be prone to flooding.

The complete story appeared in the March 15 edition of Cruise News Daily. 

The Titanic Up Close

A UK tour operator is offering very unique trips to the wreck of the Titanic in May 2018 that will show you the ship in a way few others have seen it.

Details appeared in the March 15 edition of Cruise News Daily. 

Carnival Working Toward New Bahamian Port

It's been talked about for months in the Bahamas, but last Thursday, Bahamas Prime Minister Perry Christie confirmed that Carnival is nearly ready to sign an agreement to build a port on the eastern end of Grand Bahama Island.

The complete story appeared in the March 14 edition of Cruise News Daily. 

Other Things You'll Want to Know - March 14, 2017

CND subscribers also read about:

• RCCL signs to expand at Port Everglades
• Behind the scenes at the front of the ship

Details appeared in the March 14 edition of Cruise News Daily



Putting on full-scale productions in the middle of the ocean requires seamless choreography between the marine operations and entertainment teams on board Royal Caribbean’s ships. Precision is key, and not just for the performers. Stage managers communicate with navigational officers and engineers who make the call to use the ship’s stabilizers or adjust course into the wind, in order to cancel out even the slightest motion. From backstage to the bridge, the entire team on board works together to ensure every performance is flawless for guests.

On the Edge

I've always thought it would a lot of fun for a cruise line to launch a ship with absolutely no advance publicity at all. The first passengers to board on the first sailing would be the first people to know anything about the clever new designs and features. Although the mystery would probably create an enormous amount of buzz, it would probably never work.

But that's almost what Celebrity would like to do with Celebrity Edge. The ship doesn't sail until December 18, 2018 - a year and nine months away - but they have to open it for sale, so they have to release some of the information.

Today they told the world about some of the concepts, and a few of the major features, but they're holding out and there will still be a lot to reveal over the next 21 months.

The complete story appeared in the March 13 edition of Cruise News Daily.

The Magic Carpet aboard Celebrity Edge

The Infinite Veranda aboard Celebrity Edge

Renderings courtesy of Celebrity Cruises. All rights reserved. May not be copied or used without permission.

Other Things You'll Want to Know - March 13, 2017

CND subscribers also read about:

• Comedian Robbie Prinz was chosen Princess' 2016 Entertainer of the Year
• Carnival reports that Carnival Splendor has been repairs and has returned to normal operation.

Details appeared in the March 13 edition of Cruise News Daily.